Tommy's Crib Quilt

The end of February I uploaded a bunch of pictures to my blog of quilts I've made in the last several months. I'm finally getting around to writing about them and posting.

Today's quilt is the crib quilt I made for my grandson. I was told the color scheme of the nursery and gave my daughter-in-law and son some choices of a pattern. I found this pattern on Pinterest. I modified it a bit by making it smaller and leaving off the borders.

I had it quilted with a meandering star pattern.

Whenever I make a quilt for my grandchildren I like to put a label on the back that has a Bible verse. My intention is to pray the verse for the grandchild.

And of course, there has to be a label with the child's name and date of birth.

I was so excited when I found this backing fabric. The theme for the nursery is "I love you to the moon and back". Isn't this just the cutest?

I didn't get the quilt finished until after Tommy was born, so I mailed it to him.  When they received it I got this the picture from my son.

He's a goof.

This feels like an awkwardly worded post. I struggle with how to write more than 'Look! I made a quilt for my grandbaby!' and somehow make it sound interesting.

A Two Year Old

Then there was this beautiful two year old little girl I get to call my granddaughter.  It's the best, I tell ya, the best!

Lydia's birthday was a couple of weeks ago and Hubby and I made a quick trip back to Iowa to help celebrate. She and her baby sister are so much fun to be around! I just can't get enough.

Hubby and I picked 'Grammy' and 'Pops' for our names as grandparents. Currently this two year old calls us 'Dammy' and 'Pots' and it's the most adorable-heart-melting thing I have ever heard. 

 Sometimes when Lydia is sitting on my lap she will turn to look at me, put her hand on my arm and say, "Oh, Dammy!" Melts me into a puddle very time.

Then there's this sweet Annabelle who looks so much like her mommy. Melts my heart. Yes, I am a hot mess around these two sweeties!

My daughter planned an adorable Winnie-the-Pooh themed party. That little two year old loves 'Winna-na-Pooh'! Just look at all the fun food....

I loved the cupcakes! So cute! Megan did such a wonderful job with these!

Cupcakes on your birthday are the best!

The balloons were by far the biggest hit of the birthday party. Lydia played with them for days. It was a little sad when the red balloon floated to the ceiling. She thought Daddy could help her reach it. A L M O S T  T H E R E..... She is a determined little girl.

To give her parents a little break and to spend some Grammy and Pops and Lydia time, we took her down stairs to our room and snuggled on our bed to watch (what else?) Winnie-the-Pooh on my tablet.

This post needs just one more picture of sweet Annabelle. Love that sweetie so much! Pops had the magic touch this time.

Wednesay Hodgepodge

 

1. Setting aside the real March Madness (NCAA Basketball) describe something happening at your house this month that might earn the title 'March Madness'?
Aside from a quick weekend trip to Iowa to celebrate our granddaughter's second birthday, I can't think of anything going on this month that would qualify as 'March Madness'. I guess we have had a pretty calm month. 

2. What's a favorite made up word from your childhood or a favorite from your children's childhood? Does your family still use the word today? If there's a story behind the origin please share.
When our son was little he called Canadian Bacon, Comedian Bacon. We still call it that from time to time.
When I was little I used to call my fingers "simmer". When someone would ask me where my "simmer" was, I would look at them confused. When I was asked where my finger was I would hold up one and say, "Here's my simmer!" My family brings up that story once in a while to tease me.

3. Will you be doing any spring cleaning now that the season is upon us? I read here a list of 15 quick (under one hour) spring cleaning tasks. They were-

clean out a drawer, vacuum furniture, whiten tile grout, dust the nooks and crannies you don't get to year round, degrease kitchen cabinets, wipe down walls, go behind furniture, wipe down ceiling fans, vacuum the mattress, clean the range hood, wash baseboards, shine the stainless steel, clean out vents, tackle the windows, and wipe down gadgets

Of the fifteen 'quick' tasks listed which two most need doing at your house? Will you do them?

Let's see...windows and maybe clean out the vents. I did the vents when we moved here two years ago. The windows really need it, but I really don't want to do it. Maybe I should hire someone???

4. A favorite movie set in Paris or New York?
I've always enjoyed "You've Got Mail". It's one I have watched over and over.
For a movie set in Paris, "Les Miserables" is a favorite.

5. What's put a spring in your step this month?
I had a really good visit with my cardiologist. Some lifestyle changes I have been making are helping an arrhythmia I have. The doctor was very pleased. I did a happy dance in the hallway of the doctor's office and bought myself two dozen roses.

6. Did you ever want to be a teacher? Why or why not?
My first answer to this was No, and then I laughed after I remembered what I got a degree in. It was Child Development to teach preschool/kindergarten. When I did student teaching I realized that I didn't want to teach in part because it's a job you don't leave at work. The degree did help with raising my two kids though.

7.  What's your favorite floral scent? Do you have this somewhere in your home or maybe in a perfume?

I love the smell of roses. A number of years ago I discovered Freesia at Bath & Body Works. I bought of bouquet of freesia flowers when we lived in Singapore and they filled up the house with an amazing smell!

How do you feel about florals in food?
I had something recently that had lavender in it and I liked it. For the life of me I cannot remember what it was. Isn't that funny?
How about wines with floral notes-yay or nay?
I don't like wine.

8. Insert your own random thought here.
This sweet little granddaughter of mine is TWO years old! She had such a fun birthday party!

 The mittens Lydia has on were mine when I was a little girl. Makes me smile to see her wear them.

Wednesday Hodgepodge

It's been a loooong time (July!) since I participated in the Wednesday Hodgepodge. Glad to be back today! Click on the button below and go over to Joyce's blog to read other people's answers or participate yourself.

1. What do/did you call your grandparents? If it's something unusual tell us the story behind the name. If you're a grandparent what do your grands call you? Who chose your moniker?
When I was a kid I called my grandparents just plain old 'Grandma' and 'Grandpa'. To differentiate between the maternal and paternal I would add their surname. When I was a teenager I started calling one of my grandfathers 'Gramps'. No story behind that other than it I adored my Gramps.
Before we knew we were going to be grandparents, Hubby and I decided we wanted to be called 'Grammy' and 'Pops'. Our sweet granddaughter is almost 2 and has said something like 'Pop' for several months. 'Grammy' has been a little tougher for her to say, but the last time we video chatted I heard her say something pretty close! I am super excited about that! Hearing that sweet little voice say 'Grammy' is like nothing else and melts my heart more than I expected.

2. Ever taken a road trip along the California Coast? If so what was the highlight of your trek? If not, any desire to do so? If you were to take a trip along the California Coast what's one attraction you'd have on your must-see list?
The only parts of California I have been to are Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco. Someday I would love to drive down Highway 1 along the coast.


3. What are three things you don't know how to do?
I don't know how to do English Paper Piecing. (It's a quilting thing.) I would like to learn.
I don't know how to make a grilled cheese sandwich without burning one side of it.
I don't know how to knit. I would like to learn someday.

4. Tom Peters is quoted as saying, 'Celebrate what you want to see more of.' If that's true what will you celebrate and more importantly, how will you celebrate?
I think celebrating something a person wants to see more of is probably a positive way to give positive feedback/reinforcement and the makes or allows for that something to happen more. I wish I had a specific example, but I don't.

5. Thursday (February 16) is National Almond Day. Do you like almonds? Which would you prefer-an Almond Joy or a macaron? What's something you make that calls for almonds?
Yes, I like almonds. I would prefer an Almond Joy (because, chocolate) to a macaron, but to be fair, I've never had a macaron. (I had to look it up.) I make Spritz cookies which have almond extract in them. I have also made something called Almond Filled Cookie Cake only a few times. My mom loved it so much she started making it and she and other family members have made it way more than I ever did.

6. What does Saturday morning look like at your house?
Saturday morning doesn't look much different other than Hubby is here. He usually is up early and out for a run before I wake up. Breakfast is fend for yourselves 99% of the time.

7. Share with us a favorite book you've read this winter.
 The Aviator's Wife, by Melanie Benjamin. It's about Charles Lindbergh's wife. I found it fascinating. 

8.  Insert your own random thought here.
A goal I have for myself this year is to memorize two Bible verses a month. This month's verses are from Pslam 103:11-12: For as High as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His love for those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far He has removed our transgressions from us. 
It is good to be reminded of God's love for me. I will think about this verse the next time I am on an airplane. The vastness of the heavens and the earth are so much more apparent from an airplane.

Bullet Points

"Okay, today I will sit down and write a blog post..."

...said me about a dozen times over the last two plus months since I last wrote. I have barely started about four posts and none seemed to get flowing, so none got published. I think that bullet points with brief, un-jointed thoughts with a brief summary of the last two months will work best. Here I go!!!

•  We took a two week trip the end of December to the Midwest to see our kids. Oh, who am I kidding? It was really to see our grandkids! Our newest granddaughter was born eleven days before Christmas Day. She looks a lot like her mommy and that just melt's my heart. We spent a week at our daughter's house and then a week at our son's house. And now I feel obligated to insert some pictures of those sweet babies:

 

Annabelle Rose

Lydia Mae

Thomas Isaac

• I miss those grandbabies so much it hurts. I am thankful for video chatting and being able to see and hear them through the computer. Whenever I see a baby at church or out and about I have a desire to grab that baby and love on it. I haven't done that, though. Probably a good thing. 

• We finished off our long trip with celebrating my mom's 85th birthday. We flew back to North Carolina where they live now. We arrived there a day before the rest of the family. (Most of them were at the beach celebrating New Year's.) As we waited for the rest of the family, on New Year's Day Hubby arranged to have lunch with his uncle who lives in the area and I had lunch with a childhood friend. (She and I met in the 6th grade. We have been out of touch for 30ish years and just recently discovered each other again. Imagine my surprise to learn she lives near my parents! It's been so good to get reacquainted!)

• I really do like the weather here in South Carolina. When the weather turns from a nice 70s to a "cold" 50s? Eh, not so bad! We had ONE weekend of snow and ice. I can deal with that! It was -6 when we landed in Iowa in December! Brrrr!  

•  Hubby and I celebrated my birthday in early January with a couple day stay at a downtown hotel. It was kinda fun to pretend we were somewhere else, but not be far from home.  We discovered a yummy taco place that serves THE best lime gelato I have ever had! Hubby was sweet and spoiled me with lots of presents and dinner out and I thoroughly enjoyed video chat sessions with both kids.

• The end of January we had a wonderful reunion with some friends from college days. We all arranged to meet at my sister's beach house in North Carolina. It was such a fun weekend of reconnecting, memories and sharing about our lives in the years since college.  Two of us girls were bridesmaids in the other girl's wedding. I roomed with one of the girls for two years, the other two girls roomed together for a year. Hubby and one of the guys shared an apartment. I met one of the guys when he followed my roommate back to our dorm room. Did you follow all that? We all met in InterVarsity Christian Fellowship.

 

• I have subscribed to Shipt and order my groceries through an app on my phone and have them delivered TO MY HOUSE. Amazing! Grocery shopping has grown to be one of my least favorite jobs over the years and I have enjoyed handing it off to someone else. The $49 subscription fee has been more than worth it.

• I am finishing up Annabelle's quilt this weekend. I have loved making quilts for my grandbabies over the last two plus years, but I am excited to make some quilts just for me. I'm working on plans for a really bright one.

Well, I think that's all I can come up with for now. Hopefully posts will be more frequent from now on...

Friday? What?

How in the world did it get to be Friday already? Last night I had to remind myself over and over that it was Thursday and the week was almost over. What the heck did I do all week that made it fly by so fast? Not sure I really know. I do know that I actually wrote to-do lists for myself. When I do that I know that I have a lot on my mind and a lot I want to do, even if some of those things are to shop for new pair of jeans and get a pedicure. Hey, these things are important! After all, look how cute my pedicure is....

Snowflakes!

 

 

(Yes, I have short, stubby toes. They are exactly like my parents'. My mom always said I never had much of a chance for long fingers and toes.)

Earlier this week we got a lot of rain here in the Upstate of South Carolina. It hadn't rained since early August. (Except a bit of a sprinkle here and there.) The rain helped the wildfires in the mountains. With the rain came a tornado in our town. Yep. I was out (getting that cute pedicure) when it went through. The next day I went out to run some errands and saw this about a mile from our house:

My impression is that those trees were covering the road the night before. Reports are that the tornado touched down a mile to a mile and a half from our house. Yikes! When I saw these downed trees, I got tears in my eyes and thanked God for protecting us and our property. (Hubby had to take shelter at the plant. I stayed at the nail salon while the worst seemed to pass by and stayed away from the glass store front.)

A couple of things I have on my to-do list for today is to mail some letters and drag out a few Christmas decorations. Oh, and there's the load of laundry in the dryer. I think it's done and I should probably fold it before it's a wrinkled mess. Probably.

We video chatted with our daughter last night. She's 39 weeks pregnant and ready to meet her baby girl. Baby Girl doesn't seem in any hurry. The rest of us are anxious to meet her! I've said it before and I will keep saying it, I love the invention of video chatting! We got to see Lydia putting her Pooh Bear night-night.(Putting a blanket on his back and patting him a smidge hard. Grin.)

Let's see....what else....?......

Nothing's coming to mind, so I'll hit Publish and get to that to-do list.

Thanksgiving Week Wrap Up

Oh boy did Hubby and I had a wonderfully relaxing week away! It had been a very long time since we went away, just the two of us.

Let's see...where did I leave off? Thanksgiving Day. We fixed a yummy little feast for ourselves. We were able to find two turkey thighs and half of a turkey breast to roast. Just right for the two of us. I even found some raisins to add to my helping of stuffing. (My mom's recipe for stuffing had raisins -- I love it, Hubby does not.)

After we ate our meal, we grabbed a couple of beach towels and we out to sit on the beach to watch the sun go down. We had to walk a couple of houses down to get to the beach since hurricane Matthew did a number on the walkway from the house to the beach.

It was a beautiful evening and I may have snapped a picture or eight of the sunset.

But I'll only post two.

See the flock of pelicans?

While we sat on the beach we talked about the things we were thankful for in the past year. We are both thankful for a good marriage and our kids and grandkids.

We finished off the week knocking out a bunch of Netflix shows. We watched The Crown and Gilmore Girls and a few movies. I have officially become a fan of Netflix.

We went back and forth about coming home on Saturday or Sunday. Saturday finally won.

Sunday we went to church. We love the preaching. So Biblical and relevant and not fluff. We are slowly becoming friends with a couple that is a lot closer to our age than the majority of the people in the church.

After lunch, actually brunch at a nice restaurant downtown, we braved the car dealership lots. We are looking to buy a new car to replace mine that has 211,000ish miles on it and is starting to have problems that cost too much to want to spend. We were just going to look to see if they had the 2017 models out thinking the dealerships were closed. Turns out they were open so we took a couple of cars for a test drive.

(Why are cars such a pain to buy? So much blah, blah, blah from the sales people.)

We did manage to decide which car we want to buy, so that's a good thing. Next up: Negotiating. Yippee.

Today I am thankful for...

...Community Bible Study tonight
...grocery delivery to my front door (!)
...our week away
...clean laundry
...my son

Thanksgiving Eve

Today was a hang around the beach house day. Well, almost. We took a drive to the end of the island and walked on the beach for a while and I picked up as many shells as my hands could hold. They are washed off and drying in the kitchen and will get added to a dish of shells I have at home.

I sat outside on the deck and read for a while and listened to the waves.

Yes, I was reading about quilting. I'm a nerd.

We watched some more Netflix stuff.

I made a cherry pie for our Thanksgiving dinner. I couldn't find a rolling pin (I mean, people who come here to hang out at the beach don't make pies??), so I improvised by using a glass. I am not sure how it turned out, probably a bit thick and not Blue Ribbon at the 4-H Fair worthy. Sorry, Mom. But I bet it will taste yummy.

Also, I feel the need to confess my feelings of betrayal regarding the pie crust recipe. My whole life-long I have used my maternal grandmother's recipe. Until a couple of months ago. For some reason, that I will probably never fully understand, I tried my daughter's mother-in-law's pie crust recipe. (She owns and is the chief cook at a lovely tea room restaurant and makes the most delicious pies.) Here's where my feelings of betrayal come in ..... I like her pie crust recipe better than my grandma's. (Typed with a cringing look on my face.) Sorry, Grandma.

Today I am thankful for...

...the quietness of the beach (not packed like in the summer)
...a phone call from my sweet sister-in-law
...the sound of the waves
...the stars in the night sky
...my daughter

A Little Shopping, A Little Exploring

We ventured out to do a little exploring today and while we were doing that, we did a little Christmas shopping.  

We went to a town called Southport. It looks like a fun little oceanside town with lots of interesting shops and restaurants. We were able to find a few things on our shopping list and drove around a little to see what the town was made of. 

Our evening included pizza and more Netflix. I've knocked out eight episodes of Gilmore Girls and Hubby and I have watched several episodes of The Crown. 

Today I am thankful for...

...the joy of buying gifts for our family and the anticipation of giving the gifts to them

...this amazing sunset

...seeing dolphins (I'm pretty sure) out in the ocean
...Hubby being able to talk with his best friend on the phone
...finding canned tart cherries so I can make a cherry pie for Thanksgiving
...Hubby

Finally!

Okay, okay back to my thankful stuff...

I spent last Friday (all day) and Saturday morning intensely playing with my sweet little girl. We had so much fun together. We played with PlayDoh, read books, read books, read books, sang songs, looked at pictures on my phone, played a game on my phone, played with the puppy, had snacks...

Saturday I flew back home, not getting back to South Carolina until almost 11:30pm. Hubby picked me up at the airport and even brought me some iced tea to drink on the way home. It hit the spot! True love.

Hubby and I had planned to take this week off and spend it together. We took quite a while trying to decide where we wanted to go. There are so many places within driving distance to choose from! Some friends had offered us use of their mountain cabin and we thought that sounded just blissful! Thanksgiving week in the Blue Ridge Mountains! But then wildfires in the mountains started looking worse and worse, even smokiness in the air where we live. We decided to cancel our plans for the mountains and start thinking about Plan B. My goal for the week was lots of nothing to do, so a touristy place just didn't sit right. I texted my sister to see if their beach house was available thinking it was likely not. 

It was available! 

It's nice and quiet here. Just what we wanted. 

Right before the sun set tonight, I stepped outside to look at the ocean and snapped a few pictures. The light was just right.

Enjoy.

Today's activities included grocery shopping, wandering through an antique store and exploring the wonders of Netflix. (Yep, we're one of those people who don't have Netflix.) Perfect day.

Today I am thankful for...
...pictures and videos of Lydia to share with Hubby and to remind me of our sweet time together
...sounds of the ocean
...video chatting with our son (yesterday) and watching our 7 week old grandson working so hard on tummy-time and holding his head up
...lots of sleep
...time alone with Hubby

Pretend, PlayDoh, Hats, Singing and Sewing

Twenty month old little girls are so very busy and so much fun! 

I had a friend next to me while I ate breakfast this morning. Lydia had some bites of my eggs (because Grammy's are better) and we each had a piece of pumpkin bread. Lydia shared her bread with her baby doll. (All her idea.)

I took a gamble and brought some PlayDoh for Lydia to play with. Once we established, "No Lydia, don't put it in your mouth", she had a blast and sat at the kitchen counter and played with it for more than an hour! I would make balls and she would squish them. Over and over and over and over again.

We played with toys, we sang songs, she wore this awesome hat her great-aunt made, we Skyped with Pops.

I've been working on teaching her the motions to "Away in the Manger". I taught her mommy that when she was the same age. It's part of our family home movie history. This little girl is as sweet as her mommy as we do the motions. I admit to having tears streaming down my face as I watched Lydia learn and showed her mommy how well she did!

Daughter and I got a lot accomplished. Daughter cooked several things for freezer meals, she sewed a fourth Christmas stocking, we worked on a few other sewing projects together.

Working together brough back memories of working on projects with my mom when my kids were little. Good memories. I miss doing those things with my mom. More tears.

Today I am thankful for...

...sweet memories with my granddaughter
...big running hugs from a twenty month old
...memories of my mom
...God's abundant grace

And Then I Skipped Two Days

Welp, didn't mean to do that. I posted on Sunday and then missed the next two days. Oops.

Monday night we had Community Bible study and when we got home, I spent most of the evening packing and getting ready for a trip to my daughter's for a few days. Then Tuesday was filled with traveling and ended with some fun time with my granddaughter.

I am at my daughter's for a few days to help her do some things to get ready for Baby Girl #2 who is due in only three weeks! On the agenda is cooking some food for the freezer, some cleaning, some sewing, some errands and some playing with a 20 month old.

Today's errands included a doctor's appoinment for Mommy. Grammy and this sweetie hung out in the waiting room. Here she is pointing at and asking me if she can touch a plant that was in the corner of the waiting room.

This little girl has somehow transformed into a full-fledged toddler since I last saw her in October. So many words, so much silliness!

Today I am thankful for...

...a safe flight
...warmish weather in the Midwest
...so many hugs from a little one
...the quietness of the farm
...lots of time chatting with Daughter

A Wall Hanging

I thought I'd show a picture of the wall hanging quilt I made for Grandson's room.

It's a Missouri Star, a nod to the state he was born in.

Even though all those triangle points gave me fits, I finally got it right and really like how it turned out. it's about 26" square. I only did quilting in the white background. The orange binding frames it nicely.

Today I am thankful for...

...my mom teaching me how to sew when I was 9 years old
...PJs on at 7pm, popcorn and a movie with Hubby
...the challenge in the sermon this morning to be more generous

The Saturday Evening Post

Well, I blew it. Last night I was especially tired and climbed in to bed early. After I read for a while, I turned off my light and snuggled in. Then I remembered I forgot to write my thankful post for the day. Oops!

Yesterday was a pretty good day for me. I finally finished the quilt for Grandson (Thomas). Holy cow, it took me a ridiculous amount of time to get that thing done! (I'll show a picture after it reaches its destination next week.) I finished the label, sewed it on and tossed it in the washing machine. Then pinned it on my design wall and took a bunch of pictures to make sure I documented it. I packed it in the box the quilter sent it to me in and taped it up, slapped on the mailing label and have it all ready to go to take to the post office on Monday.

When that task was done I rewarded myself with a trip to Target (yay!) and a pedicure.

When Hubby got home from work we headed downtown to one of our favorite restaurants and ended up with a 45 minute wait. Fortunately, the restaurant sends you a text when a table is available so we were able to wander around a few nearby stores. There is a really cool toy store downtown that I have a feeling we'll visit often to find things for our grandbabies.

Today was spent mostly at home. Hubby is working on the daunting task of organizing and sorting through the stuff in our storage room. You know, that stuff that you keep because maybe.... or we've had it for so long we might as well hang on to it... We are getting a little better at tossing things that we realize we haven't used for a long time like the uncomfortable metal folding chair we've had our whole married life and maybe we might need it for extra seating but really we have used to for probably over 20 years but have moved it 6 or 7 times and besides we have a real dining room table set with 10 chairs so we really don't need the uncomfortable chair. (It's gone now.)

I talked with Daughter on the phone for a bit this morning and we video chatted with Son and Daughter-in-law and Grandson. We got to witness Thomas working so hard to hold his head up while laying on his tummy. It was so cute to see!

Son sent me this adorable picture earlier this week. Such a cute smile and such a bald head! Love them both!!! (Thomas looks so much like his daddy.)

I worked on grandbaby #3's (!!!) quilt this afternoon. She's due in just a few weeks, so yeah, I'm already behind on that. Sigh. It's really different from anything I've made and I'm only going from a picture.

After Hubby was done watching football we went to explore an antique store. We love looking around, but rarely buy anything. Supper was at a hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurant, then a stop at the grocery store for one thing that ended up being three bags worth of stuff.

Today I am thankful for...

...a smiling grandson
...finishing his quilt
...pedicures
...a good night's sleep last night
...keeping in touch with our kids

A Sweet Girl

Today I am thankful for...

...this sweet, adorable face

She brings me so much joy and love. I'm thankful I get to spend a few days with her next week.

Weakness

I spent some time reading this afternoon. The book I have been reading is The Aviator's Wife by Melanie Benjamin. It's a fictional biography of Anne Morrow Lindbergh, the wife of Charles Lindbergh. Here is a quote I read today that really caught my attention and I've been thinking about it ever since. This was Mrs. Lindbergh's mother speaking:

"You need to stop looking for heroes, Anne. Only the weak need heroes and heroes need those around them to remain weak. You're not weak."

When I first read that I thought, "Sure, that's true." But the more I thought of it, the more I realized that it is true in the secular world, but for me, as a Christian, not so much.

I have heard it said that being a Christian means that you are weak. It's meant to be a negative thing, but I wholeheartedly admit that I am weak and that I need Jesus to give me strength. These verses came to mind:

But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. ~2 Corinthians 12:9-10

 

I am weak so that Christ's power can been seen in me. If it appears that I am strong or brave in any way, it's because of Jesus Christ in me. He is my strength. He is my hope. I often (as in probably something like 99% of often) face the hard things in my life with much terror, but Christ meets me there and brings me through. 

 

Just my serious thoughts for today. 

Today I am thankful for...

...Jesus' strength in me and available for everyone

...the fact that I don't need to panic, I have read the end of The Book, I know Who wins

...chocolate chip cookies because sometimes I just really need one

...a text and a phone call from my daughter today

...

Election Day

No worries, I'm not talking about an candidates here. You're welcome.

I voted this morning. Then chose to not pay attention to any news coverage. Hubby and I went to a movie tonight and didn't watch TV. I'll find out tomorrow. And no matter the results, God is still God and Jesus is still on the throne and I will still spend eternity with Him.

My son write this on Facebook yesterday. He nailed it.

We are all Americans. Behave like it tomorrow and vote. And afterwards, we are STILL all Americans. After the surrender at Appomattox: "As Lee left the house and rode away, Grant's men began cheering in celebration, but Grant ordered an immediate stop. 'I at once sent word, however, to have it stopped,' he said. 'The Confederates were now our countrymen, and we did not want to exult over their downfall,' he said.
Jesus still reigns. The sun still rises. Your brother is still your brother. We all still need grace.

 Today I am thankful for...

...being able to make up my own mind and vote for that person

...the privilege to live in this country

...a movie date with Hubby (we were the only people in the theater!)

...a sweet picture of my 5 week old grandson smiling (it melted my heart!)

Monday, Monday

Yikes! I almost forgot to write a post today! I was just about to shut down my laptop and head to bed. But fortunately I remembered, so a little recap for today.

Today was a pretty low-key day around the house, yet I felt the need to write myself a to-do list. Laundry, finish my Bible study for tonight, send an email to some friends (trying to plan a weekend away with them), and pick up my new glasses. Not a big list, but I had a feeling if I hadn't written it down, I would have forgotten something.  I almost added to my list: make egg salad for lunch. One of those days. Monday.

I picked up two pairs of glasses today. I got new lenses for the glasses I wear every day and I got a pair of glasses just for reading. I like to read in bed at night and my regular glasses with bifocals don't work when I lay on my side and the drug-store variety don't work so well for me. I asked for the cheapest frames, was shown probably 50 to choose from and this is what I chose:

Cool, huh? The name it is "Pizzazz"  I really didn't care what they looked like and I thought these were kinda fun for reading at night. They are basically opposite of what I wear everyday. Those glasses are frame-less and as inconspicuous as possible.

Tonight Hubby and I went to our weekly Bible study. We sung a hymn before we started and I was struck with these lyrics:

What can make me whole again?

Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Today I am thankful for...

...new glasses to see better with

...scallops for supper

...Jesus' blood that changes everything for me